A whale-watching boat carrying more than two dozen people sank off the coast of British Columbia on Sunday, killing at least five, officials said.Melissa Kia, a spokeswoman for the Royal Canadian Navy, said the ship sank around 5 p.m. with 27 people on board in the waters near Tofino, British Columbia, a popular vacation spot on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Five people were confirmed dead, 21 were rescued and one was missing, said Lt. Cmdr. Desmond James, a spokesman for the rescue agency that was staffed by Canadian military and Coast Guard personnel, The Associated Press reported.
The mayor of Tofino, Josie Osborne, said that residents had donated food or clothing and that some had opened their homes to survivors. She said the town was “a very small, tightknit coastal community with a strong fishery and forestry background.”
“We make most our living from ecotourism like whale watching and wildlife watching,” Ms. Osborne said. “A tragedy like this just hits home so hard.”
The ship, the Leviathan II, was owned by a local business, Jamie’s Whaling Station. Its website describes the ship as a 65-foot-long, three-deck cruiser that could accommodate 46 passengers on cruises through Clayoquot Sound and the whale-rich waters off the coast of Vancouver Island.
The cause of the accident was unclear. Video posted online by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation showed emergency medical workers in Tofino gathered on a long wooden dock that stretched over the placid waters north of town. Green mountains ringed the inlet, and gray clouds hung in the sky overhead.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in a statement that it was investigating the accident.nytimes
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